1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle simulators that accurately mimic the visual, audible and physical sensations of driving a real vehicle. More specifically, the present invention relates to racecar simulators wherein a racecar driver can simulate different racecar types, performance characteristics, racetracks and weather conditions for training purposes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is replete with different types of vehicle simulators that are used for both entertainment and training purposes. For example, there are many commercially available video games and computer games that simulate racecar driving. These games provide changing video images and audio sounds that are dependent upon the manipulations of controls by the person playing the game. Such prior art simulator games are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,376 to Copperman et al., entitled DRIVER TRAINING SYSTEMS AND METHOD WITH PERFORMANCE DATA FEEDBACK and U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,152 to Briggs et al., entitled REAL TIME VEHICLE SIMULATION SYSTEM. The problem with such video simulators is that they are designed for entertainment and the simulation provided is far removed from reality in terms of vehicle performance. Furthermore, the person using the simulator typically remains stationary and does not experience realistic physical movements that would be present in a real moving vehicle.
Training simulators, such as those used by commercial pilots, are far more sophisticated than are simulator games. Training simulators tend to have realistic controls and often the simulator itself includes a dynamic motion system that provides some degree of physical motion to the person in the simulator. Such prior art simulator systems are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,011 to Feuer et al., entitled FLIGHT SIMULATOR and U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,991 to Morris, entitled SIMULATION DEVICE AND SYSTEM. Such training simulators typically only have a limited range of motion. As such, although the person in the simulator experiences some degree of motion, the motion experienced is far less than what a person would truly experience in a real vehicle.
Training simulators typically are capable of varying simulated weather conditions. However, the performance of the simulated vehicle remains constant or varies only slightly with the changing weather conditions. For the purposes of the simulation, the performance characteristics are for a particular model airplane are considered to be constant. A pilot who flies a certain model airplane, therefore can enter a simulator for that type of airplane and the pilot would experience the same performance characteristics that are engineered into the real airplane. The pilot would therefore recognize little or no difference between the performance of the simulated airplane and the performance of the real airplane.
In many classes of professional racecar racing, the racecars are so sophisticated that the performance characteristics of the racecar are capable of being changed to customize the racecar for each race. In fact, the performance characteristics of a racecar are often changed during the race to optimize performance or to adapt to changing racing conditions. Depending upon the type of racecar, there are dozens of variable elements designed into the structure of the racecar that must be adjusted each time the racecar is run. As a result, no two racecars share the exact same performance characteristics. Each racecar is unique unto itself and the driver of the racecar adapts his/her driving style to the performance characteristics embodied by the racecar. Since no two racecars share the exact same performance characteristics, a simulator that embodies only one standard racecar with set performance characteristics is of little or no use in training a professional racecar driver. Rather, a need exists for a racecar simulator that can be selectively programmed and configured to mimic the exact performance characteristics of a specific racecar. This way a racecar driver can recreate his/her racecar and can train without having to actually run the real racecar.
In addition to experience training, professional racecar drivers also must train for the physical requirements of driving a racecar. In high-speed racing, such as Indy car racing and NASCAR racing, the races can last for hours. During the race, the racecar driver experiences a wide range of physical forces as the racecar accelerates, brakes, passes and corners. Depending upon the shape of the racetrack, a racecar driver experiences varying forces of between 1G and 4Gs during the entire duration of the race. In order to compensate for the increased G forces and the physical exertion set forth by the racecar driver, a racecar driver's pulse nearly doubles and remains at this elevated level throughout the race. In order for a racecar driver to optimally perform during such prolonged periods of physical stress, a great deal of physical conditioning is required.
Many training simulators that contain dynamic motion systems are designed primarily to train the reflexes and decision making skills of the person in the simulator. A typical training simulator with a dynamic motion system may be able to create a force of a few Gs for a second or two. However, such motion is not nearly adequate enough to physically train a racecar driver that is exposed to varying G forces throughout the entire duration of a race.
In the past, the way racecar drivers normally trained was to actually run the racecar. By running the racecar, the driver receives both experience training and physical training and the race crew has a chance to experiment with the performance characteristics of the racecar. However, there are many obvious disadvantages of training by actually running a racecar. Primary among these disadvantages is cost. Racecars are very expensive, as is their fuel, their tires and their drive train parts. Furthermore, high performance racecars can only be run on racetracks during the day, during good weather conditions and with the support of a pit crew and emergency medical personnel. As such, the running of a racecar is an expensive endeavor that takes the coordinated efforts of several people. Furthermore, every time a racecar driver drives a racecar, the racecar driver is endangering his/her own life. As a result, the pit crew that maintains the racecar is unlikely to make large changes in the performance of a racecar or otherwise experiment with the racecar in a manner that may cause the racecar to feel unfamiliar to the racecar driver and possibly cause a crash.
A large need therefore exists in the art for a racecar simulator that can be customized to the specific performance characteristics of a particular racecar at a particular track and during a particular set of weather conditions.
A need also exists for a racecar simulator capable of both physically and mentally training a racecar driver by subjecting the person in the simulator to the same physical stresses experienced in a real racecar during a race.
Lastly, a need exists for a racecar simulator where changes can be made to the performance characteristics of a racecar and those changes can be evaluated without endangering the life of the racecar driver or incurring the expense of actually running a racecar.
These needs are met by the present invention racecar simulator as described and claimed below.